Music
With their song, "Theme From Cheers," Titus Andronicus took a desire for alcohol as an escape from the pain of everyday living and turned it into one of the great anthemic rallying cries of 2010. Patrick Stickle's impassioned plea to "give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light, give
Liquid
Let this be your rallying cry. Let it be your new hot-button topic, a raw naked wildfire underground grassroots crusade, your juiciest of incentive programs, your inspired call to hit South Sound lounges and bars and taverns. It's a new old column called 3 Drink Minimum. It's maximum fun. The rules are
Features
Little did I know I would be getting an education on real, honest-to-absolute-goodness food when I visited downtown Tacoma's Puget Sound Pizza. Truth be told, I was too brain-fogged to think much of anything after speedily ingesting my pure chemical, pseudo-breakfast fillers - Carnation Instant Breakfast and an Eggo waffle. Ah,
Features
Time and time again, I have been asked the question, "Where can I go to get some good pie?" It turns out that this seemingly simple food is hard to get just right. Flaky crusts, mile-high meringues and dense, delectable fillings are the ideal. Where does one go in the
Arts
In 2012, Tacoma was ranked the 12th most peaceful city in the United States by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The study also found a strong correlation between peace and economic opportunity, health, education and social capital. In other words, Tacoma is pretty mellow, yo, and that's a good thing.
Archives
The North End of Tacoma has its own very special aura. It has a quaint upper scale, artsy vibe with its well-built older homes and manicured lawns that seem to say, “We are successful and established here.” As if it were pre-planned by some city official, Proctor District has just
Archives
Coffee and Rhetoric is an interactive, live talk show where the community is invited to discuss issues that affect them in a no-holds-barred environment. The discussions take place on the 4th Thursday of the month at Cutters Point Coffee shop, next door to UrbanXchange on Pacific Avenue downtown Tacoma. The
Music
This week I'm placing a great deal of responsibility on my readers. When editor Pappi Swarner tipped me off about an upcoming show at Tahoma Tea and Co. - formerly The Den - I naturally became very excited. But a quick glance at my work schedule promptly transformed anticipation of
Food Matters
ARMED FORCES DAY If you're going to celebrate Armed Forces Day Saturday with the family, you might skip the breastaurant Hooters. Hanging out with the kids at Hooters makes as much sense as watching as gathering Eyes Wide Shut on Christmas morning. However, if it's just you and your fellow Soldiers
We Recommend
A Buddhist friend once told me she found great peace by sitting in a comfortable place, shutting her eyes and paying attention to nothing. She said it was like a TV screen with no picture. She'd watch whatever popped up, then watch it disappear. On a recent evening, after days
We Recommend
Week of Wonders describe their music as "tropical punk," which I suppose is as good a place to start as anywhere. What do they mean when they say this? Upon first listening, the lo-fi guitars and reverb-laden vocals call to mind any of many psychedelic pop revivalists, but then that
We Recommend
A few years ago, I wrote about a band called Mr. Frederick - a band that I called "indescribable." It was a project from a guy called Justin Stimson and it blended seemingly incompatible elements like rap-rock, folk, prog and chamber pop. It was a complex soup, and it inexplicably
We Recommend
I once wrote that Horse Bodies is the kind of band that gives you chills. Perhaps that wasn't the most accurate description. It's deeper than that - a kind of dueling-guitar, gritty-voiced, party-down kind of chill that saturates your being until you are fully engaged in the music. After releasing
We Recommend
With their song, "Theme From Cheers," Titus Andronicus took a desire for alcohol as an escape from the pain of everyday living and turned it into one of the great anthemic rallying cries of 2010. Patrick Stickle's impassioned plea to "give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light, give
Show And Tell
To me there's something intriguingly raw and human about a character that won't let down his or her walls to open up to anyone. I find myself wanting to know what circumstances made them into the person that they are. Yet oftentimes what's also enticing is the character that is
We Recommend
If you've never been to a show at Harlequin Productions in Olympia, Gloucester Blue by the prolific and celebrated American dramatist, Israel Horovitz, would be an amazing initiation. Horovitz has written more than 70 plays, won numerous awards for his work, founded the Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester Mass. and
Stage
If you've never been to a show at Harlequin Productions in Olympia, Gloucester Blue by the prolific and celebrated American dramatist, Israel Horovitz, would be an amazing initiation. Horovitz has written more than 70 plays, won numerous awards for his work, founded the Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester Mass. and
We Recommend
Mike Vax, an international artist for the Getzen Musical Instrument Company and a Summit Records recording artist, has played lead and solo trumpet with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, the Clark Terry Big Bad Band, and the U.S. Navy Show Band. His "sit-in" list is long and impressive that includes Art
We Recommend
The Olympia Youth Chorus is one of those organizations you just can't help but feel good about supporting. With an end goal of nurturing an appreciation for music and choral art in kids as young as kindergarten age, the Olympia Youth Chorus has been going strong for over 16 years.
Listings
ACOUSTIC/FOLK/CELTIC Spar Cafe Olympia - Downtown. James Coates. 8 pm. NC. Cascadia Grill Olympia - Downtown. Jeremy Serwer. All Ages. 6-9 pm. NC. BLUES Dawson's Bar and Grill Tacoma - South. Billy Shew Band Open Jam Session. 8 pm. NC. The Junction Sports Bar and Grill Lewis County.